The Departed
by Fluffy Tranquil
Summary: It had been 3 years since the accident, and the Swans have moved back into town. Will Bella's best friend be able to help her get over the hurting? Will something else blossom from the situation? T for obvious reasons, maybe M in later chapters!
1. Blue Paint

Bella unpacked the rest of her clothes. She was glad she had a closet, or else nothing would fit. After putting her clothing into the proper place, she headed back outside to the garage to retrieve her last few boxes. She passed another bedroom on the way. The door was cracked enough so that she could still see the blue paint that had always been there. She remembered the night that she stared at that damn blue paint for so long; it instantly brought back the pain. Tears filled her eyes, threatening to spill over. She slammed her eyes shut, hoping for them to go away. She slowly and cautiously opened her eyes after what seemed like forever.

"Bella!" Her mother called. Louder, closer, this time. "Bella!" She was right near the door. "Oh, Bella!" She was surprised to see her daughter even in the room. She wrapped her arms around her, both of them remembering what had happened that night. That _family_ night.

* * *

He was still living at home, though he was well over 18. He was 21, but it was normal, since they were living in small town. The college was literally only a few blocks away, and his mother said he was always welcome to live at home, as well as Bella. It was family night; they had just rented a movie that Derek had persuaded them to get. He'd wanted to see it, but he was so busy studying for exams that he never had any time to go see it with his friends. It was going to be a surprise, since his favorite actor was the lead. His mother had suspected that he'd already seen it, though, and told him that it would be okay to go out with his friends. The school year was coming to a close, and he had med school the falling fall. He declined, his family was who he wanted to be with. _I'm never breaking family night_. He joked, though he must have meant it. By the time they had started the movie, it was nearly midnight. Charlie had gotten home from work late and they didn't want to start without him. The opening credits began, when he got a text from his best friend's girlfriend, Ashley Vaun. He was drunk, and she had asked Derek to come and take him home. Eric Lafferty was always the type to have to have his smarter best friend be the responsible one. Renee promised to not watch the movie until her son's return, but he protested, saying that by the time he'd get home they could have finished the movie. Renee agreed, though she re-paused it shortly after Derek left.

It was rainy that night. A big thunderstorm had just occurred, leaving the streets damp. Derek drove quickly over to the Vaun's house. He found Eric eventually, passed out in the kitchen. He managed to get him into the passenger's seat of his new car that he'd finally bought after the long years of saving every penny he could get his hands on. The sky was getting darker; the storm was returning, and Derek thought that a tornado was going to hit. The clouds were so dark and gray that he wanted to get Eric home as soon as possible. He generously hit the accelerator, speeding up the hill. He neared Eric's street, but stopped at a stop light. A truck driver from another street at the intersection didn't stop, as he was supposed to, when Derek pulled out to turn the corner. The thunder was loud, masking the truck's noises. The driver ran Derek off of the road and into a tree. The most damaged part of the car was the right side, though the impact had reached the driver's side just as much as it had the passenger's.

Back at home, the Swans waited patiently for Derek to return home. The words "The Departed" were still displayed on the screen. They never watched the movie, even after they were sure Derek would never come home.

"Maybe he stayed over Eric's so his parents won't go too hard on him." Renee suggested.

"Probably. We have nothing to worry about." Charlie said.

They had decided to watch the movie the next day, so Derek could as well. Charlie and Bella headed up to bed, but Renee stayed awake downstairs, just incase if Derek came home in the middle of the night. She fell asleep on the couch after finally deciding that he most likely wouldn't come home past 4 am. She was woken up by Bella's soft crying. On the 8 o'clock morning news was the story about her son. His mustang was visible from the shot of the accident, through the trees. Bella's crying got louder, but then soon stopped. "It _can't_ be true." She tried to convince herself. "It just _can't_."

* * *

They cried together. "It's okay, just cry." Renee told Bella. "Cry your heart out." She whispered into her ear.

Bella sighed. It had been three years. Three damn years. She should be over this by now…or not. She pushed past her mother, out of the room, and returned to her own room, not even caring about her boxes that would be left outside, in the rain, just like her brother…

**Okay, sorry it's short, but I really need to goto bed. I have somewhere to go tomorrow. It's 3 am, and I have to get up at 8.**

**Please Review!**


	2. He Loves You

Bella didn't come out of her room until the next morning. Maybe coming back here was a mistake… It had really gotten worse once her depression had hit. She barely talked to anyone after what had happened, except her best friend, Edward. Even then, she rarely came out of her room. Sometimes she skipped going to school. Though, everyone knew why. It was a very small town, and any of her family's business was the whole town's business. But they were nice people, so they offered their support, tried to help the Swan's cope, and tried to help them forget the terrible accident. _Complete and total bullshit_. She thought. _How could anyone get over losing their brother_? She was really close with Derek, not as close as with Edward, though. She told him everything, and she never imagined having to leave him behind for that long…

"Bella." Renee said, coming into her daughter's room. "Honey, you have to get out of bed sometime." She didn't want a repeat of the following weeks after Derek died.

"Mmm." She sighed, burying her head deeper into her pillow.

"Come on, all your old friends are outside, and they are waiting to see you."

"_What_ friends? …Who would want to see me anyway?" She asked.

"Well, Jessica is here. And she brought Mike and Angela. Go on and say hi to them."

"Is…_Edward_ here?" She asked.

Her mother shook her head. "No, I actually called Esme last night to tell her we're back. They are on vacation and wont be back for a few more days. I'm sure he missed you."

"Yeah right." She sighed.

"Bella!" She scolded. "He _loves_ you. He is your best friend, of course he missed you! Now go out and talk to your friends." She left her room, leaving Bella to change out of the sweats she was currently dressed in.

She went outside to the front porch, where everyone was sitting at.

Jessica hugged her right away. "Bella! We're all so glad you came back! How have you been?"

Bella shrugged. "Okay, I guess…"

Angela hugged her next, definitely a more gentle hug.

"Hey." Mike hugged her. Things were still a little awkward between them. Jessica had thought Mike was cheating on her with Bella, and he was still cautious when he was around her…

"It's okay, Mike. She knows the truth, she isn't going to pounce." Bella said.

10 minutes later, they were all sitting out on the deck at the back of her house, drinking lemonade. She didn't think that just her old friends being around would get her to come out of her shell.

"So, where are you going to college?" Angela asked. "I convinced my dad to let me go to Yale!"

"That's great, Ang. I'm gonna go to Seattle Pacific University. Mike's coming, too. Where are you going, Bella?"

"I don't really know." She said.

"Well, you need to soon! College is like 2 months away!"

"I know, but I just got home and everything's just been crazy. ..Listen, can I talk to you guys later? I really have to do something?"

"Sure." They all said, leaving her to be alone.

Bella headed back to her room. She picked up her phone and dialed the number that was all too familiar. About half-way through her very long message, she deleted it. She figured that Edward probably didn't even remember her anyway… _Why would he even want to_? She asked herself.

**K, sorry it's short. I think it might turn out better if I write short chapters. Okay, a lot of people liked the part about her brother, and you all said it was very descriptive. I always am descriptive when I have a new idea and write out the first chapter, or at least I try to be. Sorry if this wasn't really good. Oh, song for chapter 1 is Bookworm by Margot and The Nuclear So and So's. Please Listen! It's very sad!**

**Lol, Ps. Next new story is Bella as a Pageant Girl! Lol, I was watching Toddlers & Tiaras….. Hahaa. :P. Please review.**

**~Codie-Kins! [Little shout-out to my mommy in law:).]**


	3. Lemonade and Little Brothers

She attempted to call his house again at least a dozen more times. But every time she started a message, or even finished one, she just hit the delete button. Every time, she said at least _one_ wrong thing. She asked how he'd been since she left, did he have any girlfriends since then, and of course, she asked how Justin had been. She was really fond of his little brother. He wasn't like most younger siblings, because he never got in their way and annoyed them.

She tried Edward's cell, hoping that he hadn't changed it. She thought that she could faintly hear a voice in the distance, but she must have been mistaken.

_Maybe he moved on. Maybe he doesn't want to hear from me._ She told herself. She definitely hadn't moved on.

She gave his cell another call, but then hung up when she got no answer. She got the idea to call his house. She hadn't called, Renee had, yesterday. She recognized the voice on the answering machine, though it wasn't the one that she wanted to hear…

_Hello, sorry we're not home. We'll be in Hawaii for two weeks. We will try to respond to your call as soon as we get home, so just leave your name and number and we will get back to you_. *Annoying Beep*

She pressed the 'end' button, and set her phone back in it's place. _At least he's having fun in Hawaii. Meeting gorgeous Hawaiian girls and hooking up with them on the beach_. She growled. She wasn't jealous, so much. She just missed her best friend. He was always there for her no matter what, and he always would be…She hoped.

For the rest of the day she just hung around the house, hoping that she would get to talk to Edward soon.

* * *

Bella decided to busy herself with chores. He wouldn't be back for a few more days, so she had pretty much nothing to do. She even mowed the lawn, something she never thought she'd do. But not cutting it had allowed it to get really high, and it was making her legs feel weird, so it just had to be done…

After getting all of the grass off of herself, she headed inside for some lemonade. After sticking it back into the fridge, she heard a knock at the door, so she went to go answer it.

She was shocked when she opened the door to Justin, Edward's little brother. "Hey, what are you doing here?" She gave him a hug.

"We decided to come back early." He hugged her back. "Edward will be over soon."

"Oh… Well, why don't you come in? I just made some lemonade." He agreed, heading out to the backyard with her.

**So, how will she react to Edward when she hasn't seen him in three years? Next chapter will be up soon! =].**

**Oh, shout-out to hernandez777 aka Justin who wanted to be in this, and is the, no shock here, Justin character.**

**Other shout-outs-**

**to my Mommy-In-Law: Wildcitrusfruitberry aka Indya: Love you mommy! =].**

**forever jasperspixieful aka Brit: Did you hear about Gabby's sleepover for me, you, and her?**

**TheVolturiPrincess aka Gabby: When is our sleepover?**

**Brandnewx3 aka Tiffany: My sissy-poo! Lol, she is probably embarrassed that I gave her a shout-out, and that I called her sissy-poo! HaHaa. :P.**

**Don't forget to review and go vote on my poll on my profile! =].**

**~Codie-kins!**


	4. Can I stay?

**Computer messed up and when I first started this, I had good ideas. Sadly, they flew out the window when I couldn't be on my computer…**

"Has Edward changed much?" Bella asked Justin.

He shook his head. "Nope. Just the same as always. Except a little taller." They both laughed.

After getting to catch up for quite some time, they had decided to check what time it was; it couldn't take Edward _this_ long to unpack his stuff. Unless he had a run-in with his cousin, Alice, who always tries to take him on shopping sprees. It was 8:30, and the sun was already setting. She knew that Justin was fifteen and, with it being summer, he wouldn't have to go to bed at any specific time, but she didn't want him staying up with her while she waited for Edward.

She sent him off home by 8:45, grabbing their glasses and heading inside to stick them into the dishwasher. She headed to her room, grabbing a towel and a change of pajamas, and then went to the bathroom to take a shower. She changed into a mid-arm length shirt and some capris because it was still a little cold in Washington. She blow-dried her hair, combed it out, and then headed to bed.

* * *

_Knock_. _Knock_. _Knock_.

Bella was so deep into sleep that she thought someone was throwing rocks at her window. Which would have no point, seeing as her house is one-story.

She rolled over, trying to push away the noise so she could just go back to sleep. But the noise continued again.

_Knock_. _Knock_. _Knock_.

She sat up and looked at the alarm clock on her bed-side table. She may have been seeing double, because she couldn't tell if her clock read 11:18 or 1:18. The sounded continued a few seconds later, so she rubbed her eyes. _Edward_.

She nearly ran to her window and threw it open. "Edward, what are you doing here?"

"Listen, I'm sorry for not coming. My parents were hassling me about making a decision for college. …Can I come up?"

"Sure." She moved aside to let him through the window. As soon as he was safely in her room, she rubbed her eyes again. This was _definitely_ not the lanky fifteen-year-old she had left behind years ago. Standing in front of her was her very virile best friend. It amazed her how much he could change in that little time. His height, like Justin had said, was evidently noticeable. He had some facial hair near his mouth and on his chin now; his body was covered in muscles; everything about him was different. He had let his hair grow out, and it seemed to flatter him. She was right about Alice, his style had changed a lot.

"I've missed you." He gripped her in a tight hug. It wasn't just the _look_ that was different, it was the _feel_ that was different, too. She felt horrible, though, when she realized something. _He never would have had any time to bulk up if I had never left. He would have been spending all of his time with me._

"I've missed you too!"

"So, can I stay tonight?" He asked.

She nodded. This happened often: one of them staying the night. Their parents never knew, but it wasn't a problem, since they trusted their children. She sat back on her bed, and patted the spot next to her. "Come on." They always slept on the same bed, and it didn't fell awkward to them, since they had always been best friends.

But this time it felt awkward. It felt odd for her to be laying next to him after so long, and the time spent away wasn't all that was bothering her. She kinda felt an urging…

She wondered if he felt this way, too. But she couldn't be sure…

**Hey, I said they were gonna be short. And I need to go do something, so until then…**

**Oh, Ps. They aren't in Forks, but the town is still very small. I was thinking like maybe the town-size in Pretty Little Liars. Which I am about to go watch right now… Lol. :P.**

**Please review and go vote on my poll! =]. Thanks. :).**


	5. Last Minute AU! Sorry Guys!

Hey you guys! I already have some of chapter 5 done, but I am going to my friend's house in Pa, and I wont be back for a week. So, I'll try and write whatever I can and post hopefully a couple of chapters when I get back!

~Cky297.


	6. Pancakes, Peanut Butter, & Perverts

**Sorry that its late, I was kinda busy. I actually got home on Tuesday the 27****th****, not Friday. But I wrote nothing, so I had to started from scratch as soon as I could! Please review and go vote on my poll! Thnx. =].**

When Bella woke up in the morning, Edward wasn't next to her. About 15 minutes and 2 alarms later, when she was finally awake, she realized that he was still over, just not in her room. She turned her alarm off, instead of hitting snooze like she'd previously done multiple times. She stood up and "fixed" her clothes. She smoothed out her pajama bottoms and pulled her shirt down. She hated when it came up when she slept, making her bra straps visible to any passers-by. She tiptoed to the main area of the house, which was the kitchen, hoping that her parents didn't know that Edward was here. She found him in the kitchen, standing in front of the stove flipping pancakes. His were already sitting at the table, wearing a fruit and whipped cream face. She loved how he still acted like a kid. She sat down at the table. A few minutes later, he set her plate down in front of her and sat down. She smiled to herself because he remembered how she liked her pancakes-with peanut butter.

"Aww, you remembered. Thanks." She leaned across the table and kissed his cheek. She instantly regretted it when he pulled away and looked at anything in the room but her.

He cleared his throat. "I was thinking maybe we could go to the beach today." He said.

"Yeah. Maybe…" She said. They both continued to eat their breakfast in silence, until she wondered where her parents were. "Where is-"

"-You're mom is out shopping with my mom. It's good that they catch up. My dad has work, and you're dad got called in early this morning."

After they were finished, she put the dishes in the dishwasher, and they both parted to change for the beach. She changed into a green bikini with white polka dots, and then pulled some denim shorts and a tank top over it. She slid her feet into her flip-flops, grabbed her purse and a good book, and headed outside to wait for Edward. She sat on the little stone wall thing in front of his house.

"Holy fuck!" He turned around after locking up the house. "You scared the shit out of me."

"Sorry." She chuckled, but they cut the laugh short because she got distracted by him. Not because he had his shirt off, but because his shorts and shirt would have to come off for him to go swimming…

"It's okay. Ready to go?" He smiled.

"Yeah. Let's go." He took her hand, and they walked the short distance to the little beach. Edward rolled out the blanket he had brought with him. Bella instantly felt relieved that he had remembered to bring a blanket; she hated sitting down on the yucky sand. They sat on the blanket and started to talk.

"So, you really don't know where you're going to school?" Edward asked.

"Yeah. …I mean no. I mean, no, I don't know where I'm going." She blushed. She was so embarrassed that he had her tongue-tied.

"Well, where do you want to go? …I _thought_ that you would have gone to" He stopped. She knew exactly what he was talking about. She _would_ have gone to the same college as Derek, but it would remind her too much of what had happened, and she just couldn't handle that. "Sorry."

"No. It's okay. I knew I'd have to deal with it sooner or later." She felt a tear in her eye. She blinked to wash it away; surprisingly no more sprung out. "I was thinking of going somewhere out of state, but I'm not sure where. Not many schools still have spots open, and every second that I don't make a choice, I miss yet _another_ deadline. It's all just so frustrating."

"Hey, I'm having trouble with college, too. So, don't beat yourself up about it." He rubbed her back, but he left his hand on the middle of her back. "Of course my parents said they would miss me if I went to an out-of-state college, but they don't want to hold me back from my dreams. Don't let anyone hold you back from yours, either."

"Speaking of dreams, do you still want to be a rock star?" She asked.

"What kid didn't want to be a rock star?" He asked. "Doesn't everyone at some point?"

"I guess you're right." She grinned. "Now go on and swim. I know you're dying to. We have plenty of time to catch up later."

"Nah. I'll never have enough time to catch up with my old best friend! Besides, I had plenty of swimming time in Hawaii." She bit her lip. _Did he mean 'old best friend' as in they weren't as close friends as before? Or did he just mean that he hasn't seen me in a while?_

"Go. I insist. Please, for me?" She brought out the puppy pout.

"Fine." He sighed, giving in. He could never say no to her when she used her big brown eyes on him. He took his shirt off and tossed into the sand. While he wasn't looking, Bella picked it up and put it into his bag for him. She really couldn't stand it when sand was the case. She had a bad experience with sand when she was younger and she never wanted to go back down _that_ road again…

He rolled his eyes at her. Of course he knew about her little problem, he was there when the incident had occurred… "Take your shirt off."

"_What_?" She gasped. "Should I be afraid? Maybe call 911 or something?"

"Relax, I'm not a stalker, or a rapist, or anything like that. But, you need some sun. You're just too pale." He tried to pull her shirt up when she didn't cooperate.

"Stop!" She giggled. He had started tickling her. "I give up. You win!" She slipped her shorts off, along with her shirt, and put them into her purse. (It was really a beach bag, but she just liked to say it was a purse. And use it as a purse, because it was really big and it held a _lot_ of stuff.)

He whistled.

"Shut up!" She picked up her towel and smacked him with it. He caught the end of her towel in his hand, yanking it softly, tugging her with it. She was in his arms for about three seconds, before one of them pulled away. He headed into the water, while she read her book and worked on her "tan".

She had read about 2 and a half chapters by the time he came up and tried to "persuade" her into going into the ocean. He picked her up, not saying a word. He knew that if he asked her, she would decline. His body was all wet from swimming, and Bella felt a little awkward, considering that their bodies were pressed together. He didn't seem to acknowledge the feeling. He got into the water and swam out a good distance, with Bella still in his arms.

She clung tighter to him, gripping her arms around his neck, and lifting her feet up as much as she could. "Edward! Please take me back! You know I can't swim _and_ that I'm terrified of sharks. Not _afraid_, _terrified_!" He swam out a few more feet.

Since it was clear to her that he wasn't going to give in so easily, no matter if she used the pout, she released her arms from his neck, and tried to swim for shore. She knew that even though they weren't out too far, she wouldn't make it. But she did know that if she started to sink, he would come and rescue her, bring her back to land, and not force her to go back in.

"Where are you going?" He asked. "You can't swim." He slowly swam after her. It wasn't long before he caught up with her. He wrapped his arms around her waist, and when she turned around, he ducked under water.

"Edward, that's not funny. …Edward." She sighed, and reached under to grab him by his hair and pull him up. "Edward, are you crazy?"

Very abruptly, he turned around, grabbed Bella's hands, and wrapped them around his neck. With Bella on his back, he swam for shore. As soon as they hit dry sand, he told her that he had just seen a shark. Yes, her first ocean experience in a long time, and what do you know? A shark. She removed her arms from his neck. But it held no use, seeing as he grabbed them and returned them to the exact same place, pulling her into a hug. He wrapped his arms around her, not meaning it, but accidentally putting them on her butt. "I'm glad you're okay."

"_Me_? You saved us both. I'm just glad that _you_'_re_ okay!" She said.

They pulled away from each other. "Listen, I'm sorry for making you go in. Can you forgive me?"

"Of course."

"Maybe we should go back to my house." He suggested.

She nodded. "Sure." They gathered up their belongings, and walked to his house. They walked into the living room, noticing that Justin was home, watching cartoons as usual. Edward reached for a shirt that was on the couch. He picked it up and sniffed it. It must have been dirty, because he threw it at Justin. Justin casually picked it off, and threw it onto the floor. He'd get his brother back later, no one could interrupt his "ton time", as he'd once put it. Bella chuckled. Edward walked out of the living room, taking Bella's hand and leading her towards his room. He opened the door and they walked in. It was different. He now had a weight bench on the far right, next to a small shelf of weights, and an exercise ball. She could have sworn that she thought only girls used exercise balls. Oh well… His bed was definitely different; now it was a loft bed, instead of the bunk bed he had. It came in handy when Bella had spent the night, but sometimes they both slept together on the same level.

"Oh, you can go change in the bathroom."

"Okay." She nodded, then headed down the hall and to the bathroom. After taking her entire bikini off, she realized that she kinda needed a bra and underwear to get out of the house, yet alone the bathroom. She dug through her bag and found some. She was lucky that she had stopped at a friends house to spend the night on the way back to Washington, otherwise she never would have had them. Thankfully, she had forgotten to empty her bag. She pulled her clothes on, and then joined Justin in the living room as she waited for Edward to finish changing. She tried to concentrate on what Justin was telling her, but her mind kept straying to other thoughts. Like: Did her mother find out that Edward had stayed the night? Would her father be angry if he found out? How would it turn out if she walked the short distance to his room and went in, unannounced?

**Okay, next chapter is a bonfire. It's gonna get a little (or a LOT) juicy… :).**


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